No One Asked Him To, but Donald Trump Insists U.S. Won’t Be Paying for Harry and Meghan’s Security

Photo: Chris Jackson (Getty Images), Tasos Katopodis (Getty Images)

You know what America wants to know? Why Trump can’t give a straight answer to journalists about his response to the coronavirus crisis, why he hasn’t consistently instituted protocols consistent with the advice (and warnings) of medical experts, and why he won’t ensure that all the states get the resources they need without their governors having to genuflect in his presence.

Meanwhile, you know what Trump does want America to know? That we won’t be paying for the security detail of new California residents, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

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But you know what? They never asked us to.

While living in Canada, a nation that is part of the British Commonwealth, the Sussesexes did receive federally funded security assistance as part of their royal status. After it was widely reported on Friday that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had relocated from Vancouver Island to Los Angeles, where their small family has been sheltering in place, the announcement peaked excitement, concern, and derision, depending upon who you asked. But at no point did the couple—whose emancipation from being senior members of the British monarchy will be complete tomorrow, March 31—ever ask the United States to pay for their security detail in their new home.

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In fact, as CNN reports, “a Sussex spokesperson said in a statement to CNN on Sunday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the US government for security resources. Privately funded security arrangements have been made.”

But apparently, your president (whose ego is likely still smarting from the fact that the couple has wisely avoided any and all direct contact with him since his election) would rather be petty and discuss nonexistent issues than the very real and increasingly deadly issue facing his country at this moment. Seriously, why, when we’re now the epicenter of the coronavirus, is Trump fixating on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex?